Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor says that games against Brighton & Hove Albion are never easy despite their recent poor form.
The Cityzens travel to The People’s Pension Stadium this afternoon to face a Brighton & Hove Albion side who have lost their last four matches in all competitions without scoring a goal.
When speaking in his pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Taylor said that the pre-Christmas games feel like a long time ago and that neither side’s form can be taken for granted.
“Given the nature of the WSL and the fact that there are fewer games and there are international breaks, it can sometimes seem like a long time between performances,” Taylor told. “Sometimes you tend to read into that more in terms of recent form.
“If you look at our last two games, we got positive results in the WSL but they seem like a long time ago, a lot has probably changed since those games both in terms of player availability and the rhythm. When you have a winter break, you never know how the second half of the season is going to go.
“For us last season, from the beginning of December onwards, we managed to maintain it (momentum) in January with a COVID outbreak and we had real positive results, we pretty much never lost a game in the second half of last season.
“It is a little bit unpredictable looking at previous results and regardless of their previous results before the break, we are going there paying massive respect to what they are able to do, we know what they can be and that is why it is never an easy game home or away against Brighton.”
Brighton & Hove Albion go into the match in fifth position in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table, one place higher than last season’s finish. Taylor acknowledged the Sussex club’s continued growth in the top flight.
He said “You can see that there is progression on and off the pitch at Brighton. It is no secret that they have really invested in their training facility so there has been a big impetus and financial push from the club as well. When you have that, you have the mindset to push to the next level which is probably European football.
“When you have that, it makes the league more exciting and you are probably going to see potential results and points taken from teams where you normally expect to win and it has involved ourselves. We need to make sure that we don’t underestimate the opposition, we never do, we always try and respect the opposition as much as we possibly can. When we get it right, we will have a comfortable afternoon and when we don’t, that’s when things become slightly more difficult.
“To expect to just turn up and think that we can be at 80% and beat Brighton is unrealistic, we need to be really at it and really clued up on all of the details to give us the best possible chance.”
The Barclays FA Women’s Super League fixture between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City kicks-off at 12pm. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
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